{"id":6201,"date":"2021-02-16T16:33:32","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T22:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/?p=6201"},"modified":"2021-02-16T16:41:42","modified_gmt":"2021-02-16T22:41:42","slug":"identifying-discontent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/identifying-discontent\/","title":{"rendered":"Identifying Discontent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lent Week 1 Resource from the Mosaic Bible<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 \u2022 Psalm 51\u2022 1 Peter 3:13-22 \u2022 Matthew 4:1-11 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The season of Lent walks us through the grief of Jesus\u2019 last days before his crucifixion. As we read Jesus\u2019 personal conversation with his disciples in the upper room, we imagine the joy of friendship coupled with the sadness of a friend\u2019s imminent betrayal. As we enter into the darkness of Jesus\u2019 arrest, trial, and beating, we weep with those first Christians, and in our efforts to save Jesus from ourselves, we grieve in our Peter-like betrayals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tradition of Lent\u2014a forty-day sacrifice\u2014is one way of mourning the death that sin has caused in our lives. As we see Jesus perfectly withstand Satan\u2019s temptation in the wilderness, we admit our own shortcomings, our own inadequate sacrifices. This period of \u201cgiving up\u201d has a profound way of recalling our desperate need for Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c All God\u2019s plans have the mark of the cross on them, and all His plans have death to self in them.\u201d \u2014E. M. Bounds (USA\/1835\u20131913)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Remember what I say: if you would cleave to earthly pleasures, these are the things which murder souls. There is no surer way to get a seared conscience and a hard impenitent heart, than to give way to the desires of the flesh and mind. It seems nothing at first, but it tells in the long run. Consider what Peter says: \u201cabstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul\u201d (1 Peter 2:11). They destroy the soul\u2019s peace, break down its strength, lead it into hard captivity, make it a slave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Consider what Paul says: \u201cMortify therefore your members which are upon the earth\u201d (Colossians 3:5). \u201cAnd they that are Christ\u2019s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts\u201d (Galatians 5:24). \u201cBut I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection\u201d (1 Corinthians 9:27). Once the body was a perfect mansion of the soul; now it is all corrupt and disordered, and needs constant watching. It is a burden to the soul\u2014not a helpmeet; a hindrance\u2014not an assistance. It may become a useful servant, but it is always a bad master. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider, again, the words of Paul: \u201cBut put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof\u201d (Romans 13:14). \u201cThese,\u201d says Leighton, \u201care the words, the very reading of which so wrought with Augustine, that from a licentious young man he turned a faithful servant of Jesus Christ.\u201d John Charles Ryle (England 1816-1900)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“People do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word
that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” \u2014Deuteronomy 8:3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Blood deals with what we have done, whereas the Cross deals with what we are. The Blood disposes of our sins, while the Cross strikes at the root of our capacity for sin.\u201d \u2014Watchman Nee (China\/1903\u20131972)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meditation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

AWE – F U L L<\/strong>
Great and holy God
awe and reverence
fear and trembling
do not come easily to us
for we are not
Old Testament Jews
or Moses
or mystics
or sensitive enough.
Forgive us
for slouching into Your presence
with little expectation
and less awe
than we would eagerly give a visiting dignitary.
We need
neither Jehovah nor a buddy\u2014
neither \u201cthe Great and Powerful Oz\u201d nor \u201cthe man upstairs.\u201d
Help us
to want what we need . . .
You
God
and may the altar of our hearts
tremble with delight
at
Your visitation
amen.
\u2014Frederick Ohler (USA\/Contemporary)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hollow Sacrifice<\/strong>
Eileen Button
Like many Catholic children, I gave up sweets for Lent. I remember creeping downstairs on Easter morning, hoping to be greeted by a marvelous chocolate bunny. After surviving the torturous season of sacrifice, I could barely wait to nibble the cottontail\u2019s long, delicious ears. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I would sometimes be disappointed to find a hollow chocolate cross in my basket instead. Propped in green plastic grass stood a milk chocolate version of my Savior\u2019s object of torture. I couldn\u2019t eat it. It felt blasphemous to do so. While it was almost impossible to endure the long, sweet-less days of Lent, the triviality of my \u201csacrifice\u201d always shocked me when I was confronted by that chocolate cross on Easter morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The season of Lent is puzzling to many. Denying ourselves our favorite treats or habits\u2014even for a short time\u2014seems archaic in our I-want-it-now culture. Lent is a plodding, definitive crescendo that leads up to the cacophonous noise of Good Friday and the gorgeous aria of Easter. It\u2019s a season marked by deliberateness and intentionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we often get in the way of our own best intentions. When fasting we might be tempted to feel a sense of pride about our sacrifice. The very thing we relinquish sometimes clamors inside us as a \u201cneed\u201d to be met. Instead of focusing on Jesus Christ, our attention can dangerously be drawn to the very thing we\u2019ve voluntarily surrendered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Even so, the practice of Lent can be a valuable discipline. It\u2019s difficult to grasp what our sense of entitlement does to our bodies and souls. Our culture worships at the feet of pleasure. As we \u201cshovel it in,\u201d we can become desensitized to our needs\u2014the real hungers in our lives. Observing Lent can help us wrestle with the causes of our perpetual consumption. When we decide to relinquish what fails to truly satisfy, we come face-to-face with some tough questions. Can we believe Jesus when he says, \u201cPeople do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God\u201d? How can we make room for the Savior in our lives? Can we grasp the reality of Good Friday and live within its irony?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lent challenges us to consider the honest answers to these and other soul-searching questions. It invites us to jump off the hamster wheel of consumption and experience the pinch of abstaining from thoughtless indulgence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps I was offended by a hollow chocolate cross for another reason: The outside of our lives might look pretty, but we can be tragically empty. Occasionally, the reality of Jesus Christ\u2019s sacrifice and the power of his love break through our hardened hearts. The realization causes us to gasp. The hollow parts of our souls can be filled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S H O W M E T HE S U F F E R IN G O F T HE M O S T M I S E R A B L E<\/strong>
Show me the suffering of the most miserable;
So I will know my people\u2019s plight.
Free me to pray for others;
For you are present in every person.
Help me to take responsibility for my own life;
So that I can be free at last.
Give me honesty and patience;
So that I can work with other workers.
Bring forth song and celebration;
So that the Spirit will be alive among us.
Let the Spirit flourish and grow;
So that we will never tire of the struggle.
Let us remember those who have died for justice;
For they have given us life.
Help us love even those who hate us;
So we can change the world.
Amen.
\u2014C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez (USA\/1927\u20131993)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”\u2014Psalm 51:17<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lent Week 1 Resource from the Mosaic Bible Read: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 \u2022 Psalm 51\u2022 1 Peter 3:13-22 \u2022 Matthew 4:1-11 The season of Lent walks us through the grief of Jesus\u2019 last days before his crucifixion. As we read […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":6207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12,30,4,15],"tags":[299],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6201"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6201"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6213,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6201\/revisions\/6213"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/tyndalebibles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}